THE match in Pindi is midway through its designated five-day tenure as I write these lines. Though things look pretty ominous right now, There is hardly any point in taking up half-cooked matters and I will rather leave it till next week to discuss the team’s performance in the deciding third test, as, indeed, a few other things related to the Indian tour in general. For the moment, let’s have a word about the retirement of Waqar Yunus.
If I follow the conventional mould, I should restrict myself to saying that he was a legendary paceman who had turned the art and science of fast bowling on its head, by targeting toes of the batsmen, and not their heads. I should praise his contribution to the game of cricket, both nationally and internationally, and then wish him well in whatever he decides to do from hereon. I naturally intend to do all this, but I do wish to go beyond that a little.
I had written about Waqar some time ago that he still had some 30-40 Test wickets in him when he was sidelined through one of those intriguing episodes that are part and parcel of Pakistan cricket. Come to think of it, we have behaved like a strange lot in the last decade or so, with those relegated to the backwaters suddenly finding themselves leading the side, and sitting captains replacing them in the cricketing wilderness. Waqar himself was no exception on this count, as he spent a few years on the sidelines only to return at the head of the national side, and was then forced back to his corner. I found the hollow words delivered by PCB bosses in praise of the retiring Waqar a bit ironic. After having themselves pushed him into a corner, they now are telling the world how great a bowler he was. This is brazen stuff.
Waqar’s critics often took the plea that he was not a good One-Day bowler and was prone to giving away a lot of runs. A quick look at the relevant statistics would have settled the issue, but for reasons that could be anything except national interest, they found it proper to propagate that theory even though it was not based on facts.
In terms of Test cricket, even his critics would have to accept that four hundred scalps were there for the taking had it not been for those years when he was regularly named in the squad, but rarely in the team because he had fallen out of favour with those who mattered at the time.
It was nice on the part of Waqar Yunus to be gracious while bidding farewell to the game, making all the politically correct statements about the PCB and his fellow players. There is much being said about some possible assignment with the PCB, and Waqar has the credentials and the potential to fit the bill.
However, no one should take it for granted, for playing and coaching are two entirely different fields. The best student in the class do not necessarily become an outstanding professor. It is a different art, as has been proved more than once by the PCB’s decision regarding certain positions in the team management. Waqar was a player, and later captain, when such individuals were still around, and would do well to remember and learn a few things that would help him do the job more professionally, if offered.
THE match in Pindi is midway through its designated five-day tenure as I write these lines. Though things look pretty ominous right now, There is hardly any point in taking up half-cooked matters and I will rather leave it till next week to discuss the team’s performance in the deciding third test, as, indeed, a few other things related to the Indian tour in general. For the moment, let’s have a word about the retirement of Waqar Yunus.
